Frank Sinatra - Songs for Swingin' Lovers!

Sinatra already had one youthful career behind him by the time he made Songs for Swingin' Lovers! His were no longer the lustrous pipes of the kid crooner from Hoboken--the voice that made bobbysoxers swoon--but from the first notes of the opening track ("You Make Me Feel So Young") he seems to have discovered a musical fountain of youth that fully justifies the exclamation point in the album title. There's a buoyant new spring in his step, accented by Nelson Riddle's lighter-than-air arrangements, that makes the Columbia records of Sinatra's younger days sound stiff and stodgy in comparison. Even chestnuts like "Old Devil Moon," "Pennies from Heaven," "Makin' Whoopee," and "Anything Goes" are rejuvenated by his vibrant touch. Put this alongside his previous Capitol album, In the Wee Small Hours, and you have the definitive statements by both sides of Sinatra's mature musical personality: the lonely "saloon singer" and the swaggering, sophisticated swinger. Sinatra's carefree confidence achieves its supreme expression in "I've Got You Under My Skin," a performance that builds steadily to an ecstatic climax. Cole Porter may have hated his lyrical embellishments, but by the time the singer jauntily breaks the "fourth wall" on "Anything Goes" ("...may I say before this records spins to a close..."), you can't deny he's taken the title to heart. --Jim Emerson Amazon.com essential recording

Perfection...everyone should own it.

What else is there to say? Sinatra was never in better voice. Song selection superb. Accompaniment perfect. One of the finest LP's ever made, and just as good on compact disc, if not better. November 20, 2008

First Rate ALL THE WAY

Yep I love Frank, just about anything he has ever done sits well with me BUT, this CD here, well it ranks right at the top. Nelson Riddle and Frank were perfect together. The cooking chemistry between these two was nothing short of brilliant and it all fit perfect in this collection of songs. The two cranked out many albums together in the mid and late 50s, all wonderful in their own way (Moonlight Sinatra is my favorite mid 60's), but this one has to be the at the top. Franks chops were in their prime, the selection of songs and Riddles orchestrations, perfect fit.

With a Riddle/Sinatra song you know right off before the singing starts if Riddle arranged the song. Just the introduction speaks volumes. Don't get me wrong, Billy May can also cook but there is just something special about the Nelson/Frank cuts. Sheer perfection.......... July 9, 2008

Sinatra Swings

This is one of the very best Sinatra albums, possessing a fine mix of well and not so well-known songs. The rapport between the singer and Nelson Riddle's orchestra is spot-on, ranging from the delicate to the full, and handled with the precision of a piano accompanist. Sinatra has never been in better voice, and his musicality, phrasing, control of tone, and that occasional trademark "smart-mouth" style is used intelligently and not overdone (for instance he changes the lyric in "How About You" from the written "Frank Sinatra's looks" to "James Durante's looks"). For anyone who may be discovering Sinatra for the first time, this makes a fine introduction. For the old fans like myself, it's a joy to be reminded of how good he was (and is, thanks to CDs). May 24, 2008

The Riddle arrangements are not as great as the vocal performance

My Dad was a Sinatra fan. We twice thoroughly enjoyed watching a tape I made of a PBS Great Performances broadcast of Sinatra's best television appearances (sadly unavailable on DVD). My own appreciation of Sinatra has grown over the years. When our library purchased this CD, I was eager to audition it.

I agree that Sinatra was at a peak vocally when he recorded this album. Some of his live performances are more loose, but in later years his voice was not up to par. It's a matter of taste. I am perfectly happy with the subtle yet expressive variations that Sinatra uses to perform these songs, many of them classics.

I was less happy with the Nelson Riddle arrangements. They seem excessively busy. They call attention to themselves when they ought to lay back and let the focus be on the soloist, i.e. Sinatra.

Riddle infuses his charts with little ornamentations, flourishes that strike me as a bit hokey, even clownish at times -- invention and variety for its own sake, rather than supporting and deepening the underlying rhythm, chord structure, and melody of the composition. My description here perhaps makes them sound a little more annoying than they actually are. Certainly some songs on this album evidence these flaws more than others. I am far from having encyclopedic knowledge of the big arrangers of the era gone by, but I've heard many by Claus Ogerman, and as a point of contrast, I think he was more serious and at the same time laid back in his charts. Here again, it is a matter of taste. I thought the orchestra called too much of the wrong kind of attention to itself too often on Songs for Swingin' Lovers.

In the final analysis, with great songs and Sinatra himself in great form, I still have to dock one star off a perfect five for the arrangements, which distract me from time to time with their obtrusive, pointless, sometimes silly little flourishes.

On the topic of sound quality, although I have not heard the original CD release, the remastered version truly does sound sub-par. Sinatra's upper registers, brass, strings, all seem to suffer from some subtle distortion that smudges detail and creates a sort of odd, artificial electronic haze. Really, hearing-impaired people should not be involved in mastering classic albums. Whoever did the job on Songs for Swingin' Lovers should probably be doing something more suited to his talents, like driving a cab. Although it is hard to put your finger on it exactly, there is something most definitely "wrong" with the sound. I'm fairly familiar with what recordings from the mid-50s sound like, and I can't believe the original master tape of this Sinatra record ever sounded as bad as this. I may buy this album -- its reputation as a classic is deserved (with my reservation about the arranging) -- but if I do, I will seek out the early release, not the later remastered CD. April 16, 2008

"For Parting Is Not Goodbye . . . We'll Be Together Again"

"Listening to the marvelously sympathetic, effortlessly swinging orchestrations Riddle provided the singer on these selections, it's easy to understand why the album is rightly considered one of their landmark achievements - as satisfying today as when recorded 30 years ago, and just as fresh-sounding - and why Sinatra described Riddle as "the greatest arranger in the world." ~ Pete Welding ~

I concur with Frank Sinatra when he described Nelson Riddle as "the greatest arranger in the world." I would say that these two musical icons belonged to MAS (Mutual Admiration Society) -- both had nothing but deep admiration for each other's creativity in their respective art, and they brought the very best in each other. "Songs for Swingin' Lovers!" is a true representation of one of the many superb albums they recorded together.

Don't miss out on his ear-catching interpretations of fifteen gleaming standards enhanced by Riddle's sublime chart arrangements, to name a few, "You Brought A New Kind of Love To Me," "Too Marvelous for Words," "Pennies From Heaven" and "Love Is Here To Stay." Don't look any further, the best versions are here for your pure listening delight. And for something special, please listen closely and focus your ears to the Chairman's heartfelt reading of Frankie Laine and Carl Fischer's gem of a song, "We'll Be Together Again."

"Someday, some way
We both have a lifetime before us
For parting is not goodbye
We'll be together again."

When it comes to Frank Sinatra, one can go and on using all the superlatives to write about his recordings, his music and his one-of-a-kind artistry, but mine will remain candid yet nifty ... suffice it to say that this is one of the finest recordings of all-time. I enjoyed listening to it and I'll endlessly spread the word that this gem of an album is worthy to every Sinatra collector.

With my heartfelt recommendation.

April 1, 2008

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